(AFP PHOTO/STR)
Egyptian rights watchdog the Association for Free Thought and Expression (AFTE) has filed a lawsuit against the Egyptian presidency demanding increased transparency in the fact-finding committee established to investigate the events following the 30 June Revolution.
In a Monday statement, AFTE called on the presidency to disclose how members of fact-finding committees are selected, and for the committees to publicly disclose reports on their results. The statement cites another fact-finding committee, formed after the 25 January Revolution, which failed to release its findings.
The lawsuit claims that the presidency has breached Article 68 of the 2014 constitution, which mandates government transparency.
“Information, data, statistics and official documents are owned by the people. Disclosure thereof from various sources is a right guaranteed by the state to all citizens. The state shall provide and make them available to citizens with transparency,” reads Article 68.
After a national dialogue with several different political factions, interim President Adly Mansour announced on 22 December the formation of a fact-finding committee to probe the violence that ensued after the 30 June protests and the 3 July ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi.
In February, a coalition of five released a joint statement expressing frustration at the lack of transparency and professionalism exhibited by the president’s fact-finding committee.
